The Mets Had a Classic Collapse in Their Season Opener Against the Phillies

In Tuesday‘s Hot Clicks: the Mets blow another one, Baylor’s dominant title victory and more.

Typical Mets

New season. New owner. Same old Mets.

After their opening series against the Nationals was called off because of Washington’s positive COVID-19 tests, New York’s 2021 season got started Monday night in Philadelphia. Jacob deGrom got the start and was stellar. He didn’t allow a run in six innings of work, striking out seven and allowing just three hits. He even drove in a run at the plate.

But things went south once the Mets turned things over to the bullpen. After Miguel Castro worked a scoreless seventh, Trevor May quickly loaded the bases and was yanked in favor of Aaron Loup. Loup plunked Bryce Harper to force in a run and then allowed a single to J.T. Realmuto that tied the game.

Then the Phillies blew the game open. Alec Bohm hit a routine grounder to third and the throw from Luis Guillorme, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement for J.D. Davis, was wide. Two runs scored as the ball rolled to the backstop.

A Didi Gregorius sacrifice fly pushed the Phillies’ lead to 5–2. The Mets managed to get one run back in the ninth but lost 5–3.

It was yet another instance of the Mets squandering an outstanding start from their two-time Cy Young winner. DeGrom has been nearly unhittable since the start of the 2018 season, but the Mets have a losing record when he starts.

While Mets fans were tearing their hair out, the implosion was the sort of thing the New York tabloids love. The Sam Darnold trade got top billing on the back pages but all three papers carved out some space for the Mets. “New owner, same woes,” The New York Post read. “This again! Mets blow another one for Jake,” was the headline on top of the New York Daily News. Newsday went with “Bullpen bunglers fail Jake.”

Some things never change. 

The best of SI

Baylor-Gonzaga was supposed to be a classic, but the Bears turned it into a beatdown. ... Some of MLB’s top pitchers are also some of its oldest. ... How the Rockets plan to get back to contention after dealing James Harden and Russell Westbrook. ... The race is already on to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Norwegian prodigy Erling Haaland. 

Around the sports world

Fernando Tatis Jr. partially dislocated his shoulder on a swing. ... James Harden, who missed two games with hamstring tightness, aggravated the injury against the Knicks. ... Paul Pierce is out at ESPN after a racy Instagram Live video. ... The Jets are stockpiling draft picks after trading Sam Darnold to the Panthers. ... Ryan Odom, the coach behind UMBC’s historic upset of Virginia, is taking the top job at Utah State.

The first “One Shining Moment” in two years

Well played all around

I have hives

The governor elected not to attend the superspreader event he sanctioned

You gotta be kidding me

And before we have too much fun with this guy. ..

Are you ready for a Coors Field home run derby?

Incredible dive

How does this happen?

There isn’t a universe in which Julius Randle can cover Kyrie Irving, but this stepback is still sick

Kudos to the Panthers’ social media team

pic.twitter.com/Z1GYeszI4b

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 5, 2021

This swing is absolutely perfect

High (high, high) heat

Nice to see a baseball team advocate for vaccination

Not sports

A U.S. battleship sunk off the coast of the Philippines during World War II, is now the deepest shipwreck in the world to be explored. ... An AI program created a song that sounds convincingly like a Nirvana track. ... A man from France failed Quebec’s French test for immigrants. 

Good dog

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.